The Lakers signed Deng to a four year, $72 million contract in 2016. The stretch-and-waive allows them to free up more space by paying out the remaining $36.8 million on Deng’s contract over several years. The $18 million he’ll be paid for 2018-2019 is already committed, but since the Lakers chose to do the stretch-and-waive after Aug. 31, they will be able to stretch the remaining $18.8 million Deng is owed over the next three years.

This move has a big impact for Deng. He’s now a free agent, which is great for him since things never quite clicked with the Lakers. But it also has serious implications for the Lakers’ future. The Lakers will pay Deng just $6.27M a year over the next three years, which will give them over $35 million in cap space for the 2019-20 season.